Cop, Elderly Woman Wounded In Shootout

November 25, 2000|By Ruth E. Igoe, Tribune Staff Writer.

Chicago police have arrested a man suspected of robbing a woman at gunpoint early Friday, kidnapping her and then firing on police investigators, prompting a shootout that wounded an officer and the elderly woman.

No charges had been filed against the man Friday evening, but police were investigating the incident and expected to file them soon.

Officer Kevin Connors, 25, suffered three gunshot wounds after the suspect fired at him and his partner as they searched for the victim in her South Side apartment, police said.

Connors was listed in good condition Friday night in Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Police said a bullet went through his right thigh, another is lodged below his left shoulder and a third bruised his lower abdomen after being deflected by his bulletproof vest.

Minnie Johnson, 68, of the 7700 block of South Hermitage Avenue, also received multiple gunshot wounds--to her left thigh, left leg, left wrist and right ankle--and was listed in serious condition at Cook County Hospital.

Just before 3 a.m. Friday, police said they received a 911 call from witnesses reporting a gunman forcing Johnson into a car in the 8200 block of South Ashland Avenue.

Police traced the license plate number that witnesses provided to a car owned by Johnson and went to her apartment to investigate, said police spokesman Pat Camden.

A resident there let officers in. When investigators stepped into a room at the apartment's rear, the offender fired at them, Camden said.

Connors collapsed and his partner returned fire, Camden said. After the exchange, the offender fled, police said. A few blocks away, another patrol officer picked up the suspect without incident about 4 a.m.

Police have not found the suspect's gun--believed to be a .38-caliber revolver--but officers said they recovered surveillance camera video that shows the man holding a gun to Johnson's head as she made a withdrawal from a cash station on South Ashland Avenue.

It was unclear to police Friday whether Johnson's wounds came from shots fired by Connors' partner or from the suspect.